Restoration
by Mori No Hikari
Summary: Willow is deep in depression after Tara moves out, so she invites her little cousin over. A demon attacks, and says something about the Key. But what does it have to do with Dawn? Aren't her powers gone?
1. Up on a Hilltop

Hikari: The wheels on the bus go round and round-

Kayo: Honey, please stop that. You've been singing children's songs for  
the past hour.

Hikari: Um... NO! Besides, would you rather that I bounced around the  
room, setting all of your clothes on fire?

Kayo: F NO! I...Uh- never mind. Just get on with the story. The nice  
audience people are waiting.

Hikari: Ahh! Audience! YAY! Time to REEEEEEEAD!

Kayo: Um...yeah, about that... I wrote the disclaimer for you, so just  
read from it, and don't get pouty.

Hikari: Okay...

Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, or any of the  
characters that were created by Marti Noxon, Joss Whedon, or any of the  
directors/writers on both shows. If I did, not only would I not be  
writing this, I would be living on the moon or underwater. How fun!

Kayo: Hey! That last part wasn't on there!

Hikari: I know! But it was soooooo boooring. Do you thing the moon is  
as pretty as underwater!

Kayo:twitchsure.

Hikari: And now to make the nice audience people vewy vewy happy!

* * *

**Another Key Doth This Way Come:******

Part I: Restoration  
Chapter 1

It was cold, up there on the mountain. But the tall, robed band of men  
from Greece were quite prepared for that. They had more than enough  
supplies for all the men there. Of course, they were only four miles  
from Bareges, a fairly good-sized town just by the base of the Pic du  
Midi de Bigorre, the oversized hill they were on in the south of  
France.

One man, clearly defined from the others by his lighter robe, the back  
of which was embroidered with an eye and the symbol of Omega, was  
setting out a smooth, flat stone on the cold ground. He placed a blue  
orb upon it, smiling at the way it glowed softly. The sphere rolled  
toward his hand, basically nuzzling it, if an inanimate object can do  
such a thing. The man smiled a little bit more, shaking his head as he  
gently scooted the ball back to the center of the flat stone.

"You need not comfort me, dear one, we will meet again. It is time for  
the ceremony now, so please rest yourself." (A/N: This is said in Greek,

but for the sake of sanity, I made it into English)

The other men gathered around, forming a circle around the man, with  
the stone and the sapphire orb at the direct center. They all began  
chanting in ancient Greek.

The man in the center said aloud, "Where one opens doors, she will open  
hearts. When one is hurt, she will heal her. For the sake of the world,  
the universe, and the dimensions, we recreate our child, our dear one,  
to protect her from the evils that may seek her. We bestow upon her a  
name, and the powers of her namesake. We place her in the safety of the  
Chosen one and her companions. We give her the blood of the mystical  
one, so she may be set right be our child's presence. Athena, give her  
thought and wit. Hestia, give her peaceful shelter. Hera, give her  
gentle mother. Iris and Hermes, give her safe passage. Hephaistos, give  
her form. Aphrodite, give her compassion. Artemis, grant her your  
protection. Ares, give her quick thinking in battle. Zeus, give her  
strength. To you we pray, and to you we release our dear one. From  
Alpha to Omega, we trust in you." At this, he scooped up the orb and  
threw it into the wind. But it was no longer a glowing sphere. It was a  
dove, flying into the sky.

The man stood, smiling wistfully. They had been successful. He scanned  
the circle, seeing all of the other Disciples of the Seer. They all  
seemed partly drained, partly sad. All had their heads hung, waiting  
for instructions.

A whisper, on the wind. The man heard it. Someone was infiltrating his  
circle. Someone had already broken in. He whipped his head around  
again, looking over every robed person there.

One...two...three, four, five... all clean there...six, seven,  
eight...no, they weren't spies... what about number nine? The man  
doubled back. There were only supposed to be eight men in his circle.  
He went back and looked at the ninth one.

A sharp athame sliced through cloth, staining white fabric with red.  
The man fell to the ground, and the eight other robed followers were  
dead before they could gasp.

The lone figure, holding a bloody blade, tipped down its hood,  
revealing withered red skin. It was smiling, a grotesque sight for any,  
considering its teeth were thin and razor sharp. Its nose was  
apparently nonexistent, but the nostrils were long and vertical. The  
eyes were a poisonous green, unlidded, ever unblinking.

The demon kneeled and plunged the athame into the cold ground, then  
began chanting. A few moments later, a small ring of fire, maybe two  
inches in diameter, appeared in front of the demon.

"Do you know where it has gone, minion?" The fire was not actually  
speaking, but the words came from the air around it, in a series of  
pitched hisses and pops.

"Aye, master, their 'dear one'" There was a snicker following that. "Is  
off to live with the Slayer. 'She' will be easy to find, my liege.  
Possibly even easier to take control of."

"Then find it, track it by any means necessary. I will be arisen. Use  
the slayer to find it. Those impotent fools probably warned her of it's  
arrival."

"Yes, my liege," The demon replied, bowing it's head. The fire puffed  
out into a wisp of dark smoke.

The demon left the massacre and the athame to start down the hill.


	2. The Call

I am really sorry it took so long to get this thing out, but school is the only place I can do this, because I don't have a pc, and so I am doomed to go to the library at lunch until the fateful day that my father decides to get me Windows Microsoft Office.

At any rate, I am glad to finally post this chapter. I hope that many more are on their way, and to be honest, I've already gotten several of them typed up. Just hold on, please!

Thanks to my sole reviewer, 0zma914!

You people better contribute!

And now, the moment you have all been waiting for! The next chapter!

* * *

**Restoration**

Chapter Two

* * *

Willow sat on her bed at Buffy's house, reading a book on the history  
of witchcraft and it's various uses in daily life. Sure, she'd read the  
book about a million times, but today was a supremely boring day, and  
there were no books that were not at her mercy. Especially since Willow  
was really into the whole depression thing, considering Tara and her  
had broken up barely a month previously.

The phone rang, shrill and sudden. Willow picked it up quickly.

"Hello, Summers' residence."

"Willow! How is my little plant these days?" Willow stayed silent, not  
sure who was on the line. "Oh, come on, cuz, don't tell me you forgot  
what I sounded like already."

Willow half-grinned. "Hello, Cassandra. I'm surprised you called."

Cassandra was Willow's baby cousin, on her mother's side. She'd been  
born when Will was maybe seven or eight, so she was about fourteen, a  
year younger than Dawn.

"Of course you are, sweetie. Your voice is screamin' it. That and  
you're way not happy. So tell me, Will, what are you so bummed about?"  
Cassandra, as usual, was nosy as heck. It made Willow feel better that  
some things never changed, her baby cousin included. But her baby  
cousin tended to follow in the footsteps of her older role model. So,  
when Willow had started on the witchcraft stuff, she'd shared all her  
findings on the subject with her little Cassie-bear. Cassandra soon  
followed in learning to manipulate pencils outside the limits of  
gravity. That was when Cassandra had found out that she had some  
different supernatural abilities, telepathy and premonitions being the  
prime culprits. Cassandra's premonitions, however, were few, far  
between, and mainly pointless and unavoidable. She'd only had three  
since her powers became unlocked. One was when she'd seen the neighbors  
down the street get a new puppy. Another was a vision of fear, black  
hair, and strawberries. The last was a vision of the past, of the first  
time she and Willow had met. The visions were okay, and they were  
uncontrollable. It was the mind reading that Willow got worried about.

"Cassie-bear, remember what we talked about?"

Cassandra gave a very obvious rolly-eyes sigh. "Not to use my telepathy  
without permission." They'd made that rule about two years prior, when  
Cassandra had been just randomly reading any person's mind who'd come  
into contact with her. She'd been trying to just go on an outing in the  
business district of Sunnydale on a visit. The information had been  
overwhelming. She'd found everything from dentists appointments to  
wondering how much one could beat another up until they died. All that  
stuff clogged Cassandra's head, making her forget about most everything  
else. She ended up wandering the streets muttering about prenups,  
choices for preschool, and an A minus grade on a book report. Willow  
had to use a tracking spell to find her. Cassandra had only been let  
outside the house again once she proved that she would no longer read  
anyone's mind without their permission. "But Will, I wasn't even  
reading your mind. If I were, I'd know what it is, how long ago it  
happened, and the first ten sentences on your last school report."

Willow chuckled. "You have a point."

"Of course I have a point, Willow. I have to be near someone to be able  
to use my telepathy. I am very clearly not in a physical vicinity of  
you at the moment."

'Well, that's Cassandra for you,' Willow thought. 'She always seems to  
manage to make herself sound as though she was always right.'

"But," Cassandra added, "I will be as of tomorrow afternoon."

Willow's brow furrowed with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm coming into town and staying over. Remember, family, big  
dinner party, adults only?"

Willow slapped her forehead. "How could I forget about that! I swear I  
wrote it down. I think it got put on the fridge."

The voice on the other end of the line giggled. "The paper-bearing  
cooling receptacle of doom," It remarked. "Don't worry, I called  
yesterday to confirm, and Dawn picked up. We talked, and we figured  
it so that I'd stay in her room."

"So then you got an OK from Buffy? It is her house, you know."

"Yes, mom," Cassandra replied, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.  
"Well, at any rate, I'll be coming over tomorrow at three or so. If you  
know you're not going to be there, have Buffy or Dawn stay home. I  
don't want to have to conjure a key.'

Surprised was the very adept witch at her cousin's abilities. "You've  
already figured out how to conjure? I mean, last time I checked, you'd  
barely gotten into turning ice into fire. That's a big jump in just a  
year."

Cassandra, following form, shrugged and dropped the phone, then had to  
grope frantically to get it back to her ear. "I was hoping for more,  
but the largest thing I've been able to bring up is a foot stool. Not  
an ottoman, just a footstool. It was miniscule too. Good news, however.  
I've just tried my first protection spell. You know, with a force field and everything.

It worked really well. All of the guys at school who normally torture me on a daily

basis actually laid off for a week. I witnessed them giving me actual compliments!

I swear I nearly had an out-of-body experience!"

"I don't think I've ever heard of a force field that does that," Willow  
frowned.

"Well," Cassandra explained, "It wasn't so much a 'force' field, it was  
more of a mellowing field. Everybody who came near me was calmed. I really

have no idea how it managed to do that, though.

Willow nodded. "I see. I know some people who would call that basic  
work, but that's pretty advanced for someone your age. How long did it  
last again?"

"Um," Cassandra started, sounding rather guilty, "It's been a week  
since I did it. I think I may have accidentally upped the dosage  
without knowing it, because I saw the force field for the first, maybe,  
hour? But after that, it disappeared, and I haven't seen it since."

"That really is strange," commented Willow.

"And another thing," she went on, "I have some people in most of my  
classes, and one of them recently broke his arm, maybe a month ago. But  
on Tuesday, he went to the doctor for a checkup, and they took the cast  
off. He came back to school and played in the basketball game.Ó

"Maybe he was just a speedy healer," Willow offered.

"See, that's just it. He wasn't. Last week the doctor said he'd have to  
keep it on longer than six weeks. Apparently, he didn't have enough  
calcium in his system to do the job fast enough." Cassandra sighed.  
"And it's not just that. For the past week, absolutely no one in my classes

has gotten sick.Not one person at all since I did the spell. And it's cold and flu season."

"Okay," admitted the more experienced Wiccan, "Maybe there is something  
there. But, you may just have worded the spell wrong. I've done that a  
few times."

"It's... oh, never mind. I'll see you tomorrow. Three 'o clock, if  
you're here. Otherwise, I'll hang with Dawn 'till you get back."

"See you then, Cassie-bear."

"See you then, Willow Tree."

Willow hung up the phone. She looked around the room, seeing all the  
books she'd read that day, and picked them up, one by one, putting them  
away. She just didn't feel like reading anymore, and once the bed was  
cleared, she lay down and cried.

* * *

Hikari: Hello Chicago! I don't live there, but I hear it's really windy! 

Kayo: That's from the politicians, sweetie.

Hikari: Who knew? Well, readers, please readn and review! I'd really like to see some people posting reviews. If no one does, I may be forced to go into therapy from the lonliness...

Kayo: Just review, people.


	3. Arrival

Hello Nurse! I'm back, with a brand new chapter of my favorite posted story! And in record time!

I have been noticing a certain aspect of my story has remained that same- that would be the reviews. I really enjoy feedback, and I don't want to have to force my friends to give me reviews. They do that anyway.

So please, if you read this, just post a little something about what you liked, didn't like, what jumped out at you, general questions about what I'm going to do, things like that. I **really** would appreciate it if you could!

Now **read**!

(echo)

(_echo_)

* * *

**Restoration**

**_Chapter 3_**

* * *

When Cassandra arrived the next day, Willow was out getting groceries.  
Dawn answered the door and screamed with happiness. Cassandra would 

have covered her ears, but they were currently holding her things.

"Cass! My gosh, it's been, what, like, forever!" She gave Cassandra the  
bear hugof the century.

Cassandra giggled and set her stuff down in the living room. "Only  
about a year, ten months and nine days, but who's counting?"

"I don't know, but they'd better say hello to me," Buffy cut in.

"Hiya, Buff," Cassandra said, giving Buffy a big hug. When they broke  
apart, Cassandra had on a sympathetic smile. "So sorry to hear about  
Joyce. I wish I could have come for the funeral, but I was in the  
clutches of a majorly contagious epidemic- I really hate finals."

Buffy nodded. "It's okay. You would have come if you could."

Cassandra cocked her head, looking at Buffy in a peculiar way. "Oh,  
yeah, how was the dying? That must have been a blast."

The Slayer was taken aback that Cassandra would know about something  
like that. But of course, Willow had neglected to tell them that her  
baby cousin was a telepathic witch. Well, they'd known about the witch  
part, but the rest was still unknown.

Dawn, as usual, cut the awkward moment short. "You must see my room,  
Cass," She begged. "I swear, it has undergone a total makeover since  
last time."

"You? Do a total makeover," Cassandra laughed, "This I have to see."  
And the two teens rushed upstairs.

Buffy stayed by the front door, confused. She was sure that Willow had  
told her of all the people she'd informed of her death. Her younger  
cousin hadn't been on the list.

'Oh well,' Buffy thought, shaking her head, 'She must have told her on  
the phone yesterday. Maybe Dawn told her.'

As Buffy turned to go back, Willow stepped through the door.

"Hey, Buff, did Cassandra get here yet? It's after three."

"Yeah, she just got here. She's grown a lot." Buffy added. "What is  
she, fifteen?"

Willow smiled. "No, she's a year younger than Dawnie, remember? I can  
still see her when she was little, trying to get me to read to her.  
Last time I saw her she was trying to get me to teach her how to make a  
pencil dance by itself." Willow looked very wistful. "And now she's on  
to conjuring. She even told me that she'd done a protection spell. She  
was worried that it might backfire."

"She's like a smaller version of you," Buffy commented, "Only less with  
the magic, less shy, longer hair, and she doesn't stay out all night."  
Buffy gave a playful frown in Willow's direction.

"Don't forget, Buff, you stayed out all that night too."

Buffy cringed at the thought of the other night. Spike had called her,  
wanting to meet her for some weird reason of his. She'd blown him off,  
but he'd caught up with her when she'd left the magic box and gotten  
her to punch him. He'd punched her back. His computer chip, the one put  
in him so that he couldn't harm anyone, had apparently decided that  
Buffy wasn't as human as before she'd died. So they ended up sparring  
themselves into an abandoned building. Then, Buffy had kissed him. The  
next morning, yesterday, she'd woken up in the basement of that  
building, which had fallen down. Naked, as it happened. She'd had sex  
with Spike. He rubbed it in her face, and she left to go home. Tara had  
stayed with Dawn all night, since neither Buffy or Willow had come  
home.

Willow set the groceries down on the dining room table. "Must have been  
one hell of a night for you, Buff. You came home all bruised. Was it a  
vamp you were fighting?"

At that point, the girls came back down. Willow went back outside,  
calling after Buffy, "I forgot the peanut butter in the car!"

"What's up with her," Dawn asked.

Buffy frowned. "No idea. You'd think she'd want to say hi."

"You'd think," Cassandra said.

Suddenly, through the back door, a wrinkly red-skinned demon burst in,  
holding a ball of fire. It pinned Buffy to the wall by the door,  
looking at her sinisterly.

"Where is the Key, Slayer?" It asked. Cassandra grabbed Dawn and  
practically flew up the stairs with her. They ran into Dawn's room and  
shut the doors, sliding the dresser across one of them, then wedged a  
chair under the knob of the other. Then Cassandra sat down in the  
middle of the floor, cross-legged.

"Sit down, Dawn, and grab my hands." She said, calmly but hurried.

"How did you know I was the Key, Cass," Dawn questioned.

"No time to talk, Dawnie, just sit down. Once I do this, I'll answer  
your question." Dawn obeyed, scared that her friend had changed so  
quickly. They clasped hands, and sand poured out of the air above them,  
diverted by an invisible dome, and formed a circle around them. A light  
came from the sand and became a dome of its own, glowing a bright blue.  
Cassandra slumped a bit, breathing as though relieved. She released  
Dawn's hands.

"How, Cass? How did you know? About me?"

Cassandra paused, knowing that Dawn would be scared if she told her  
that she was telepathic, and that she had read both her and Buffy's  
mind in that instant the demon had said what it had said. It was only  
the natural reaction to something like that. So she went with the  
simply intuitive response. "Well, the demon said The Key, and I'm not a  
Key or anything. Sounds mystical or something. Besides, when he said  
that, assuming it was a 'he', Buffy looked at you. Like she was scared  
for you. But, being pinned to the wall as she was, she couldn't protect  
you. So I did," She added, gesturing to the dome above them.

"Oh," Dawn stated.

Downstairs, the demon still had Buffy in a hold, and she was starting  
to lose her vision. "I won't let you hurt Dawn," she said, much more  
bravely than she felt.

"You misunderstand, slayer. I do not want the Key of Worlds."

Willow came in through the front door, peanut butter in hand. She  
dropped it when she saw the demon that had her friend hanging above the  
floor and yelled a word in latin. The demon let go of Buffy and she  
slid to the floor as he writhed. Before he could blow up, assuming that  
was what was going to happen, the demon ran back out the back door.  
Buffy coughed heavily, and took very deep breaths. Willow helped the  
Chosen to stand up.

"What happened, Buffy? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Buffy choked out. "He came in, asking for the key.  
Cassandra and Dawn ran upstairs. I think they barricaded the doors. I  
don't know."

"He wanted Dawn? Why?

Buffy shook her head. "No. Not Dawn. He called Dawn the Key of Worlds.  
I think he was talking about somebody else. He didn't even look at  
Dawn, or Cass. He just went straight for me." Buffy sat down at the  
table, still catching her breath.

"I'll get you some water," Willow offered, and started for the kitchen.

Suddenly, a scream came from upstairs. It was clearly Dawn's voice.

"Oh my god," Buffy breathed, getting up.

"No," Willow ordered. "You're weak from the choking. I'll take care of  
him." With that, she ran upstairs.

The demon was indeed in Dawn's room, having seemingly come through the  
window. Cassandra dome force field was holding strong as he threw  
fireballs at it. Both girls were sitting on the floor. Dawn had her  
arms over her head, and Cassandra was whispering words under her  
breath, either to strengthen the field or to kill the demon. The  
younger was staring directly at the demon, hatred and anger and power  
like Willow had never seen on her little cousin's face.

The demon saw Willow, and figured he needed to get it over with, so he  
made an extra-large fireball and threw it at Cassandra and Dawn.

As Willow watched, Dawn looked up, and the fireball broke through the  
field. Dawn, in a truly uncharacteristic heroic fashion, tossed  
Cassandra aside and took the blow, which was smaller than it would have  
been, if not for the blue dome. Cass knocked her head on the bed frame,  
and Dawn flew back into the wall and hit her head. Willow screamed, and  
Buffy appeared in the doorway, shocked. She fell to the floor, crying,  
in denial of what she'd seen. Neither she nor Willow saw the still  
Cassandra begin to glow the softest hue of blue.

* * *

Hikari: I will plan onposting the next chapter rather soon, but if I don't, you people had better get me some feedback. My therapist isn't exactly helpful with this... She keeps on threatening to smash the non-reviewers with her meat tenderizer- and she said something about donut torture...

Kimori: Hello readers! I am Kimori, Hii-chan's therapist! She has been feeling lonely, so I gave her some hallucinogenic pills. At least she can have friends that keep her company in her head-

Hikari: - if I ever take them. I told you that they are strictly for math class and study hall.

Kimori: Right... I guess I forgot about that... Well, anyway, readers, please review for Hikari's story! Otherwise, my great big smasher of the animal flesh may become hungry for you!

Hikari: Ignore her. Just review, please.


	4. Incident

Hello again! Thank you to those of you who have bothered to read all these chapters! I really don't think that I have felt this way about a story, but then again, my other story is kind of hanging unfinished. I don't intend for it to stay that way, so as soon as I get more help from my muse, it'll continue.

Now, I realise that this may sound a little harsh, but bear with me. This is a template for all those who cannot correct their grammar. Read, and know that this is how a story is supposed to be formatted- grammar wise. Use it as a helper.

**

* * *

**

**Restoration**

**Chapter 4:**

**_Incident_**

* * *

Dawn was surrounded by light, and standing in a sort of river. A clear,  
yet, at the same time, misty flowing of water. It stretched endlessly  
in either direction. The water didn't even reach mid-shin. It was warm,  
and sparkled in a rather strange way. 

To add to the confusion, she was wearing a white silky dress. It struck

her asrather odd for standing in the middle of a river.She felt the river pullingher  
one way, to more light, and she was compelled to follow it. So she  
walked what appeared to be downstream. All was peaceful, and a soft  
sort of bright. Dawn could hear a distant roar, like a waterfall.

Wind chimes sounded, and Dawn stopped. She looked back. Cassandra was  
standing a few steps behind her. Or it looked like Cassandra. The girl  
looked a bit older, with much longer hair, nearly down to her hips,  
pulled back from her face with small bits in front of her ears that  
curled softly, as did the rest of her hair. Her eyes were timeless, a  
blue the color of the sky and deep sea at the same time, her normally  
just red-brown hair had turned a beautiful copper, or maybe auburn.  
Dawn, while being a teenage color maven, just couldn't discern which.

"Dawn, don't." She said simply. It was Cass's voice, sure, but it was,  
again, older. The Cass Dawn knew could never sound so genuinely regal.

"Why not, Cass? It's my time. I died. I have to go," Dawn stated, not  
understanding why she'd said it. She never said anything _that_ cheesy.

"No, Dawn. You can't die. Buffy, Willow, the world and I need you. Come  
back with me," She held out her hand, a comforting smile on her face.  
"You once told me you'd do anything to ease the pain of the people you  
love. Their pain will grow, and it will chase you. Your death is  
unnecessary. You can come back with me, now, and help Buffy. You can  
help reassure them that you won't leave any time soon. They need that  
now. It's my fault you died. I know that now."

Dawn nodded, and stepped over to the form of the friend she'd saved not  
two minutes ago. She took the hand offered her, and they faded from the  
light.

Dawn woke up in great pain, finding herself staring at the wall. She  
rolled over, and saw a blurred version of her room, plus a few dark  
smudges on the carpet. There was also a good amount of red around where  
she was laying. Her chest and stomach hurt a lot, and there was a  
particular spot on her forehead that was throbbing sharply. Her vision  
cleared a bit more, and she could see that the smudges were burn marks,  
and she was lying in a veritable pool of blood.

Suddenly a face blocked her view of herself all over the floor. It was  
Cassandra, and Dawn saw a flash of the girl she'd seen when she'd died.  
But it was just Cass, hair french braided, face over-freckled,  
eyes a sort of dirty blue-gray. But thenCass put her hands over Dawn's  
wound, and blue energy flowed from her hands into the open flesh,  
teasing it to cover itself with new skin, then filled in the spots  
lacking in tissue. The skin was almost new. Or it was the skin that had  
been there before being mutilated. The shirt even mended itself.

Cassandra sat back on her heels a moment before helping Dawn to sit up.  
"You okay now? No cuts, scrapes, anything I missed?"

"Well I think you-" Dawn stopped as she realized that her head didn't  
hurt anymore, and reached up. It was a little bit sore, but nothing  
bad. "Okay, never mind that unfinished comment. All's well that ends  
well."

Willow looked up through her tears, hearing Dawn's voice. "Dawnie?"

Buffy also peeked through her fingers, and upon seeing Dawn alive and  
talking, rushed over and smothered her in a teary hug. Cassandra looked  
downwards, bashful. She put her hands on her knees while looking at the floor.

"Sorry I couldn't save the carpet," She apologized. "Upholstery seems  
to not be healable."

'That's just like Cass,' Dawn thought, 'Being sorry for a stain. What a nut.'

"It's okay," Buffy sobbed, "It'll all be okay."

"Um, Buff," cut in a certain brown-haired individual, "As much as I  
simply adore being able to see you again, really, I don't think this is  
going to make me appreciate life any more."

Buffy released her choke hold. "Let's get you some rest. Even with  
healing, nothing could do you better right now."

Dawn rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yes, mother." Buffy smiled a little  
in response.

Willow came in with her own two cents. "Cassandra should get some rest,  
too. Using that much magic has to be draining."

"But I-" the one in question began to argue, before Dawn elbowed her in  
the ribs and gave her a 'don't ruin this, we get to be spoiled all  
day,' look. "Okay, if you say so, Willow."

And so the two teens spent the majority of the rest of the afternoon in  
the master bedroom, tucked between the sheets, getting pampered by  
Willow and hugged by Buffy. Cassandra noticed something jumpy about her  
cousin, however, and she wasn't the only one. Buffy was staring at  
Willow curiously whenever she came in.

"Hey, Buff," asked Cassandra, "Does Willow remind you of someone? I'm  
just asking because you have that 'what does that remind me of?' look  
on. And I know it bothers you when you can't figure something out."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I just have this weird sense of deja vu, and I  
can't place it." Buffy then looked inwardly as Cass nodded. Then Cass  
looked inward too. Into Buffy, that is.

'Busy bodying. Why does Willow busy bodying around remind me of  
someone,' thought the Slayer. 'bringing more blankets, asking if we  
need anything, seeming like she's avoiding something... OH MY GOD! I  
got it! She reminds me of Mom. Mom when... I was telepathic. And she  
didn't want me to find it out. That she and Giles had sex. EEEW! Don't  
think about it. Roof of a police car. Eew! Twice. Double Eew! Okay, the  
wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and  
round...' At that point, Cassandra stopped reading Buffy's mind,  
because it seemed that it would get rather monotonous.

'Oh, is Willow avoiding me because she doesn't want me find out what's  
bothering her,' thought the young witch. 'I think I'll go talk to my  
dear cousin now.' "Um, Buffy, I think I'll go talk to Willow, see  
what's on her mind." 'Truer than you know,' she thought.

The Slayer's mothering instinct kicked in. "You sure you're okay? Magic  
is like chocolate. Too much in one sitting and you end up feeling sick  
and weak-kneed."

"Buffy would know," Dawn added. "She's had one too many encounters with  
the bed and the toilet because of a certain sweet tooth. That tooth  
will be the puke of her." They all giggled.

"I'm fine," Cassandra assured them. "I just want to talk to Willow, is  
all. Dawn, you seem to be quite comfy, so stay where you are. I'm sure  
you'd like a nap."

"As a matter of fact, I do," Dawn replied. "So I'm gonna just get my  
well-deserved beauty sleep." She and Buffy giggled even more. Cassandra  
opted out of the room.

"Why do you think she wants to talk to Willow," Asked the small  
brunette.

Buffy thought for a moment. "Maybe it has something to do with why  
Willow's been avoiding her."

"You noticed that too, huh?" Buff nodded.

"Willow is a fantasy book. Easy to read, and even easier to predict the  
outcome." Buffy was sad that she had to describe her best friend like  
that. She normally hated to make analogies about people. They were so  
crude oftentimes.

Dawn agreed, but added her own part. "Only, this time, the fantasy must  
end. And Willow may lose interest in the story line. Then, no more  
book."

"A little bit harsh," the Slayer admonished, "But sadly, I have to agree."

* * *

(echo) 

(_echo_)

Hikari: Ok, that's the echo from last chapter, and I have no idea how it got here. But, at any rate, Thank you to my other reviewer! I can neither remember your name that you put down, nor do I feel like searching for it, so a 'thank you' is all you're gonna get! Oh look, my muse is here! Kyoko, please say hello to all the wonderful readers!

Kyoko: Bonjour, mes amis. Je voudrais que vous mourez.

Hikari: Sorry, guys, I forgot that she only speaks in French. And one other thing I should have told you- she doesn't really like people- so please ignore her earlier comment.

Kyoko: J'aime le poisson.

Hikari: And now you know why I'm so random- I get it from her.

Kyoko: Pourquoi est-ce que tu es ici? Tu n'aime pas cet endroit, non?

Hikari: Are you kidding me? I love it here!

Kayo: Honey, why is she here?

Hikari: Hello, my wonderful boyfriendK-kun! She is here because she likes to be- right, Kyoko?

Kyoko: Je ne dites pas, maisvous etes faux.

Kayo: Is she insulting people again?

Hikari: I'm afraid so. She isn't very agreeable. But I thought it was a plus that she never lies!

Kayo: ... Right. A plus.

Hikari: I just realized that we have gotten way off-topic.

Kyoko: Tres bien. Quand est-ce que tu apprends cet?

Hikari: Just now. But I digress. To all you people who have no idea what she was saying, I thank you! Because you are some of the luckiest people alive. Please continue to be that way. Unless you go live in France. Because that would be bad. At any rate, thank you for reading yet another of my story's chapters. Please leave a review after you finish reading this!

Kyoko: Ne viens encore!

Hikari: You are not allowed back here either.


	5. Accepting What Is

Good morning again! I'm back with another chapter! If you are reading this, even if you don't think it's very good, just put down what you liked in a review and submit it. I could do with a good bit of feedback, you know.

I know it really has been a while, but I have no Microsoft Word at home, and the site doesn't let me use Appleworks. So school is the only place for me. I try to update every other day I'm here.

And now, back to the show!

* * *

**Restoration**

Chapter5- _Acccepting What Is_

* * *

Cass found Willow downstairs at the kitchen counter, making a creamy  
peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich. She plopped herself down  
on the nearest stool, licking her lips in anticipation. 

"Ooh," Cassandra cooed, making Willow jump, "Can I get one of those?"

Willow caught her breath. "Sure," She answered, "I'll make you one." As  
Willow went and prepared another sandwich, Cass delved into her  
cousin's mind. She knew it was wrong, but something in her told her  
that it would be the only way she'd know what was bothering her best  
friend.

In the first, outermost level of her conscious mind, there was a  
desperate need to stay busy, coupled with a restless sort of panic. The  
reason fopr that was just a layer in. As Cass dug, she found that  
Willow was just barely concealing a deep sense of loss, pain, and  
longing. Under that, the young girl found a trapped feeling, with the  
terror of impounding doom, as though in a cage that is in the way of a  
volcano. Fear of what may happen when the beast is released. Below  
that, a struggle was taking place between two opposing sides of the  
same person. And lower still, one singular word reverberated through  
the voice of Willow's soul. 'Tara! Tara,' it screamed, hopelessly  
entangled in finding the one it sought.

Cassandra almost gasped at all the injury her dear cousin's psyche had  
wrought upon itself. It nearly seemed as though she was the only person  
in the world who could help Willow with her mounting problems. Which  
was entirely not true, for Willow had Buffy, and Xander, and Dawn, and  
the entire gang to help her out, but none of them had. So, it stood to  
reason that Cassandra was the one who would have to jump-start the  
healing process. But first, she needed answers.

Cass withdrew from Willow's mind, and fiddled silently with a pile of  
mail in front of her. She moved the pile aside when Willow gave her the  
requested sandwich. After a few bites, Cassandra swallowed and posed a  
question.

"Who's Tara, Will?"

Metal clattered to the floor. Willow was frozen, a look of fear and  
sadness plastered on her face. Then, the gears in her mind cranked,  
almost visibly, and the taller redhead got a bit more angry. "You  
probed! What have I told you about entering other people's minds  
unless you ask them? You never know what you'll find!"

"You do realize I could just ask Dawn, and i'd get a very detailed  
answer, don't you?"

Willow scoffed. "And she'll just repeat what I've said."

Cassandra smiled. "No, she won't."

"Why won't she," asked the older female in the room. Then Willow  
answered her own question. "They don't know about you. What, you didn't  
remember to tell them?"

"They don't need to know! It's mine, not theirs. Why should I tell them  
about it?"

"Because it affects them, Cassandra! You can't just go around using it  
and expect no repercussions!"

Cass laughed, rolling her eyes. "You're one to talk. I see it, Willow,  
hanging around you like a plague. Made from you, by you, and for you.  
You're choking yourself."

Willow frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You've been overusing magic, Willow. Which is probably why Tara left.  
She was scared for you, but she couldn't stop you." Willow knew that  
her cousin was right. "Oh, I've hit the spot, haven't I? I can just  
hear the entire story coming from you. You and Tara had an argument,  
but you didn't want her to leave, so you made her forget. 'Tabula  
Rasa', right? How pitiful. She still found out, and then she really did  
leave you. You've been broken ever since. And Tara won't come back  
until you're fixed. We're going to need to take you off of magic for a  
while, Willow. Detoxify you a bit."

Willow was taken aback at Cass's boldness. "I don't need to be fixed.  
I'm fine. Peachy-keen. Couldn't be better. And I think I'm going to go  
for a walk now." So she grabbed her coat off the rack and left.  
Cassandra hung her head.

* * *

Break 

Buffy looked at her sleeping sister. Dawn really was best when she  
wasn't jabbering or getting herself into trouble. And, naturally, nap  
time was almost the only time when she wasn't doing either.

Buffy detangled herself from her sister's hug and went downstairs. It  
Seemed as though Willow and Cass were having a fight, so Buffy grabbed  
her coat, deciding to take a walk.

Out the door, down the street, passing by the graveyard. The petite  
blonde soon found herself outside of a familiar mausoleum. Spike's  
crypt, as a matter of fact. Buffy shook her head and made as though to  
turn away, but instead she found herself suddenly inside of the stone  
structure.

It was pretty much the same as the last time she had been there. Sort  
of worn out cushy chairs, TV, granite coffins, hole in the ground  
between them. Buffy didn't know what she'd expected to be different.  
Maybe the heavy scent of cologne. Of course, Spike had never been one  
to dress to impress. Or really dress at all. She'd only ever seen him  
in tight black jeans, tight black shirt, combat boots, and his precious  
duster. Or nothing at all. Buffy cringed at the thought, then  
remembered where she was. She had no idea why she was there, no matter  
why she just didn't feel like leaving. Although insanity was definitely  
a likely choice of reasons.

So, she sat down in one of the chairs, then leapt up as soon as she  
realized that she was sitting on something. It turned out to be a  
liquor flask. Of course.

"How charming," She mused. She tossed it aside, then sat down again.  
"It'll be getting dark soon." Buffy was talking to no one in  
particular. It didn't make her get up, even though she knew that it  
meant that Spike would find her when he decided to go out. She just  
didn't care. Let him find her, it meant nothing. Nothing...

Buffy started awake, noticing three things. One, she was covered by a  
warm and rather heavy blanket. Two, it was dark, almost pitch black  
outside. Three, and this was, by far, the doozie, Spike was staring at  
her. With a sort of sweet smile on his face. It seemed rather odd in  
her mind, considering who it was that was smiling.

"Morning, Slayer Beauty," he chuckled.

Buffy sighed. "I'm surprised," was her answer.

The vampire opposite her cocked and eyebrow. "At what?"

She gave a patronizing smile. "At your restraint. In case you didn't  
think I'd noticed, my clothes are still on." He stopped smiling.

"What, you'd thought I'd stoop that low? I still have some class, girl.  
Which is apparently more than you'll manage."

"Aww," Buffy cooed. "Looks like Spikey's getting a bit cranky. That'd  
be my cue to exit, stage left." She got up and made for the door. Spike  
grabbed her arm, swinging her around for his lips to press upon hers.  
She pushed him away. "Okay, surely you didn't get it into your head  
that this was why I came here, 'cause once was way more than enough for  
me." And Buffy went to the door, grabbing the handle.

"Then why did you come here," said a voice behind her, and she froze.  
His breath was cool on her neck, giving her goose bumps and a pleasant  
twinge in her stomach. Nevertheless, she showed none of it.

"Like I'm gonna tell you that," she retorted.

Suddenly, a hand was on her stomach, tickling her mercilessly. Buffy  
screamed with laughter and then ran to the hole in the ground and  
through it, Spike hot on her heels. She managed to make it to the back  
of the hole, near the bed, when Spike got her. She couldn't stop  
giggling, and then his eyes were in line with hers, and her brain  
ceased functioning. She was kissing him, tearing at his shirt. She  
pulled it off, and he got hers onto the floor. Then off came both their  
pants, and soon all remnants of clothing had been thrown aside.

Buffy woke once during the rest of the night to a feeling of pure  
bliss. She didn't even register in her mind that she was safely tucked  
into the embrace of a man who, less than two years ago, had been the  
most dangerous vampire on earth. No, she proceeded to snuggle in even  
deeper and fall right back to sleep.

* * *

Hikari- Thank you for reading! If there was any misunderstanding about what happened at the end of last chapter, when Kyoko was here, I just want to clear it up. I was not saying that you _the readers_ couldn't come back, I was telling _my muse_ that she wasn't allowed to visit here anymore. So please, readers, return and once you finish reading this- review! 


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